Archive for the ‘care training’ Category

It’s a subject close to my heart, and after nursing both parents who suffered with dementia I’m not surprised to hear the memory-loss condition, including Alzheimer’s disease, has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in England and Wales.

Last year, more than 61,000 people died of dementia – 11.6 per cent of all recorded deaths.

People are living for longer and deaths from some other causes, including heart disease, have gone down.

And of course, doctors are now much better at diagnosing dementia and the condition is now given more weight on death certificates.

The majority of beds now taken in our nursing homes are for those with some form of dementia, though this may not be the primary condition.

Hilary Evans of Alzheimer’s Research UK was reported in the Press as saying: “These figures once again call attention to the uncomfortable reality that currently, no-one survives a diagnosis of dementia.

“Dementia is not an inevitable part of ageing, it’s caused by diseases that can be fought through research, and we must bring all our efforts to bear on what is now our greatest medical challenge.”

Martina Kane of the Alzheimer’s Society said: “It is essential that people have access to the right support and services to help them live well with dementia and that research into better care, treatments and eventually a cure remain high on the agenda.”

There are around 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK.

My question to those who hold the purse strings for social care: How are we expected to care for them correctly without more money coming our way?

Vanity projects have been the hallmark of many governments. The breaking of the miners’ union under Mrs Thatcher, the Millennium Dome, Heathrow’s new runway expansion, Trident and not least HS2, have all be cited as political legacy monuments.

But let’s get something clear here. The West Midlands Care Association is not, to use a term, “a political animal” and we’ll work with whatever party to enhance the delivery of social care. Truth is, however, every political persuasion has a desire to leave it’s mark, but perhaps now is a time to fix sights on a massive national problem – the state of social care.

The government currently says HS2 will cost £55.7 billion. In 2010 the original estimates were put at £32bn.

A foolish thought, I know, but shouldn’t we be shelving this scheme and diverting the money into resolving the care crisis that has gripped the nation?

That way, those locked into the distressing and surreal battle with dementia could be properly cared for. Have I got the social and economic values all so wrong? Clearly, things are never so simplistic, but at this time it appears a pretty good option to me.

We need to stop thinking about the expressions of dementia – it’s a condition that can be frightening to both carer and patient, it can be hard to be around it, it can be violent and it can destroy those who are simply under-gunned in the fight to deliver compassionate care.

Perhaps our MPs will note that all care needs to be respectful, but it costs and funding needs to come from somewhere. Also, perhaps they could take on board that the dementia drain on diminishing social care funds is for a people group which never chose to be such a burden on society.

The Association is acutely aware of the growing workload for dementia care and the social skills it needs.

Last month (October) – Dementia Month – we worked with all of our care providers and the Aged Care Channel TV (ACCTV) to get additional training to the carers.

If anyone should ever doubt the value of social care, I suggest they read an online article in Care Talk by Debbie Sorkin, whom I met recently at a Care Alliance meeting in London.

Her theme is simple – prevention is better than cure. Always better.

It is, as she points out, the cornerstone of recent health and social care policy. This is all about keeping people healthy and independent in their own homes – a “defining principle of the 2014 Care Act.”

She makes the point that “It means encouraging people to take more control of their own health and wellbeing: a move that is being supported, if slowly and patchily, through the introduction of Personal Health Budgets.”

But it’s also about supporting people, whether in their own homes or in residential care.

A great concept, this initiative is a pillar of NHS England’s Five Year Forward View – but, as Sorkin says “it should be clear that it’s also been the settled practice of social care for many years.”

But there is a problem. If we want preventative care (and we do). if we want to keep the elderly and frail out of A&E departments, if we want them healthy in body and mind . . . it costs money.

While I applaud Sorkin’s positive approach, she does point to a major cloud of foreboding.

She says: “ . . . Keeping people well, or nipping problems in the bud – is getting harder to do, particularly in relation to older people, where the social care system is struggling to cope.”

Let me quote a little more from her feature: “Six consecutive years of local authority budget cuts have seen 26 per cent fewer people getting help, and no-one has a full picture of what has happened to those older people – around a million strong according to Care UK – who are no longer entitled to publicly funded care. The human and financial costs to them and those who care for them are mounting.”

On the issue of district nurses providing community-based health services that are essential to keeping people with chronic, complex conditions well enough to live independently –there was a 28 per cent reduction in their numbers between 2009 and 2014, despite increased demands.

Sorkin begs the question what our response should be and points to leadership, well, system leadership (new sound bite) as an answer.

She mentions “doing what you can with the resources available.” What resources. Have my members any left?

She also promotes the Leadership Qualities Framework (LQF) for Adult Social Care “central to the section on Managing Resources, using resources effectively and minimising waste.”

All the right words and phrases are there . . . innovation, encouraging improvement, and creating a climate of continuous service.

Successful examples are cited in the West Midlands: New Outlook, a small care provider, teaming up with Nehemiah Housing Association to place a greater emphasis on wellbeing amongst residents and service users.

Results, she says, for the programme that has been running for only about a year, show emergency ambulance calls from the sites where the programme is operating dropped by 66 per cent between 2014 and 2015.

But for many care providers they’re well passed this rescue point. As someone said: “You can’t use an umbrella in a typhoon.”

Great leadership, hard choices, programmes of smart thinking, so many of my members have been there, done that, got the T-shirt and are still drowning.

Ultimately, all business needs the oil of finance – proper, fair rates for a proper job. Local authorities don’t want to, or can’t pay it; in many of the poorer areas (like mine) self-funders are thin on the ground and without the necessary viscosity of money the engines of care seize.

Creative solutions – a sound bite of the 80s – is alive and ticking with two northern employers coming together to help tackle the care industry skills shortage.

TyneMet College and Age UK North Tyneside’s EveryDay Home Care service have launched a new training programme to upskill workers in the healthcare sector and develop the next generation of industry talent.

I love it!

Health and social care staff from EveryDay Home Care’s workforce and Age UK North Tyneside Wellbeing Services will undergo a structured training programme that covers a range of disciplines including health and safety, medication awareness, customer service, food safety, nutrition and first aid. The employees will study for a health and social care apprenticeship, which will combine on-the-job work experience with classroom learning at TyneMet.

The partnership with TyneMet comes as demand for homecare services is on the rise and providers are struggling to recruit suitably skilled staff.

Alma Caldwell, group chief executive at Age UK North Tyneside and EveryDay Home Care, was reported in the media as saying: “We recognise the importance of increasing the skills base of our workforce, particularly as there is a shortage of suitably qualified workers in our industry.

“That’s why we’ve teamed up with TyneMet College to upskill our current workforce and provide an opportunity for other aspiring care staff to make their way in the sector.”

What can I say? Well, surprisingly quite a bit. . .

All care staff have to go through a structured training programme and many newcomers are signed up to apprenticeship schemes.

My West Midlands Care Association has always worked with local authorities, which have helped us to ensure that we get the right quality training and that it is easyily accessible when needed.

This year we are pushing boundaries and seeking to access training through other routes.

Our problem is that LAs are limited on what they can supply.

Currently we are working with ACCTV a company that produces interactive television training for care staff.

Previously, this has been the preserve of the Southern, well-funded areas, but we have now managed to secure a service with a realistic offer.

Our members will get a very good deal, be assured. Providers will get a taster and access to the dementia training program as September is Dementia Month.